Projects
Copular verbs out of motion verbs: a comparative analysis of French and Dutch copular systems and processes of copularization Ghent University
This project aims to study change-of-state semi-copulas, originating from verbs that express physical motion, in a Romance (French) and a Germanic (Dutch) language. The architecture of semi-copulas in both languages (cf. Construction Grammar) and the historical process(es) involved in the creation of semi-copulas (cf. Grammaticalization) are to be compared in the light of the general evolutionary path “motion > change-of-state”.
The interaction between specification and information structure in English clefts, pseudoclefts and specificational copulars. KU Leuven
De koppelwerkwoorden ser en estar in het licht van recente taalkundige benaderingen en van het onderzoek in tweede-taalonderwijs The copulas ser and estar in the light of recent linguistic approaches and the research in second language teaching KU Leuven
Las cópulas ser y estar a la luz de enfoques lingüísticos recientes y de la investigación en la enseñanza de segundas lenguas
The copulas ser and estar in the light of recent linguistic approaches and the research in second language teaching
Key words: Spanish, copulas, adjectival predicates, evidentiality, grammar teaching
The copulas ser and ...
English specificational and predicative clauses: A functional-cognitive account of their representational and textual organisation KU Leuven
Specificational clauses set up a pragmatically presupposed variable – i.e. that is presumed to be known or to be taken for granted by the hearer (Lambrecht 1994: 52) –, e.g. the best option in (1a), and assign a specific value to it, e.g. the Hotel Boomerang.
(1a) Where to stay: the Parador El Hierro … has doubles from £80 a night, B&B. Or in Valverde, the best option [variable] is *the Hotel Boomerang* [value]. (WB)
The role ...
The development of small clauses in English: constructional growth and decline KU Leuven
This study investigates the development of the English Secondary Predicate Construction, against the background of current views on language change. A Secondary Predicate Construction, or SPC, consists of a verb, a noun phrase (NP), and an Xphrase (XP). The NP and XP are in a predicative relation, similar to a subject-predicate relation in a copular clause. In (1a) for instance, consider him handsome involves a verb ...
Why does Spanish have a dozen pseudocopulas to express change-of-state? Towards a cognitive-functional account. KU Leuven
Contributions to formal and computational linguistics Abstract KU Leuven
Syntax and semantics have always taken center stage in linguistics. The accumulated knowledge was stored and transmitted in the form of grammars, dictionaries and specialized publications. With the advent of computational linguistics in the second half of the twentieth century there was a growing interest for the application of that knowledge in systems for automatic speech and language processing, such as machine translation, question-answer ...
Normalisation of sexual harassment on dating apps: the impact on and of sexual scripts. Ghent University
Dating applications are booming. The combination of the ongoing digitalisation and a global pandemic is considerably increasing their popularity. However, using these apps is not without risk. The prevalence of sexual harassment on dating apps is alarming, with figures ranging from 42% to 60%. Moreover, this sexual harassment frequently seems to be normalised. The objective of this research is twofold. On the one hand, it wants to gain ...
SUBJECT-SPECIFIC GRAPH MEASURES BASED ON RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL MRI AS POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE KU Leuven
The brain is one of the most complex systems. To understand the brain we have to understand how the brain works, in terms of how remote/non-remote brain regions effectively interact and how brain regions are organized to process information. Therefore, it is important to understand the brain as a network. To quantify the performance of brain networks, graph theory is a very suitable method. It has been proposed that graph measures of ...